WELCOME ADDRESS

We note with pleasure that support for the work of the International Sago Foundation through the research of people like yourselves is gradually increasing.

There are 85 participants in this 5th Symposium, including 65 from outside Thailand. Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States are all represented directly here today.

As most of you here today will know, these symposiums are a direct result of work which began out of an association between Prof. W.R. Stanton, of the University of Malaysia, and Prof. M. Flach, of the Agricultural University of Wageningen, in the mid-1970's, and it is a great pleasure to note that both of these esteemed scholars are here with us today; for their continuing commitment, and indeed to all of you who are contributing to the important work of the International Sago Network, through your research work and through your presence here today, we offer our thanks.

Sincere thanks are also due to Dr. Suranant Subhadrabandhu, the president of the International Sago Network, and to the Tsukuba Sago Fund, in particular Dr. Shigeru Hisajima, for support of the organization of the Symposium. To the International Society for Horticultural Science, and the Horticultural Science Society of Thailand for their assistance, we are also grateful. I would in addition like to express my gratitude to the members of the International Advisory Committee and the National Organizing Committee, for the considerable efforts they have made to ensure that the Symposium will be a success.

Hat Yai is the principal city of the south of Thailand, and has a rich tradition as a centre of trade and transportation. It has long been considered the gateway to the south. We hope you will enjoy your few days here, both in the scientific programs, and in the various social functions.

No doubt all of you welcome the opportunity which the symposium provides for a direct exchange of ideas and results, as well as the opportunity to renew friendships and contacts formed at earlier symposiums. We join with you in anticipation of a fruitful and enjoyable 5th. Symposium. Once again, may I say that it is an honor to welcome you all here today.


OPENING ADDRESS

It is one of the recurring pleasures of a University President to be asked to officiate at gatherings like this, where groups of people with an interest and a commitment in a particular area of study have the opportunity of spending a few days together sharing ideas and findings, and discussing possible future activities and research.

Such gatherings lie close to the heart of the university ethos, and this is especially true when the topic under discussion has the power, as I am lead to believe the present subject has, of increasing our ability to reclaim, to stabilize, and even to transform marginally productive areas of our rural lands. Such an objective has important ramifications for rural economies, and for the environment. These are of course two hugely important areas of concern to all of us in the developing nations, and this gives the work of this symposium an importance, I might even say an urgency, which it might not have if the topic under consideration lay in a more purely scientific area of study, such as mathematics, which is my own area.

For many of you, the local environment, both social and physical, which you will find here will be a substantial departure from your everyday experience in your home countries. I trust that you will enjoy the novelty, and will take home with you not only a feeling of satisfaction at having taken part in a successful and inspirational symposium, but also agreeable memories of your stay here. I believe you will have some opportunities to meet the local people, and I trust that you will find us friendly and amenable.

The active cultivation of the sago palm in this part of the world, the south of Thailand, has been in gradual decline for some time. Nowadays it is used as a secondary source of starch for humans and livestock, as well as a source of green manure, and its foliage is often used as a source of roof matting in the countryside.

One of the important results of the work of all of you who are here today may be a re-examination of the value of this species to the rural economy and the rural economy and the rural ecology of this part of the world, and for your assistance in this re-evaluation, we are indeed grateful.

So, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to declare these proceedings of the Fifth Internation Sago Symposium open. May I bid you, on behalf of all of us at Prince of Songkla University, welcome, and may I assure you that you have our best wishes for a enjoyable and fruitful symposium.